Captain's Log

Halloween For Adults in Victoria

Posted by Myrna West on Monday October 2nd, 2017

October is a spook-tacular time in Victoria, with plenty of decorations around the city, events like the Zombie Walk and Wicked Victoria, and a ton of fun in the #VictoriaBOO (and #SidneyBOO!) hashtag.

There's no shortage of activities for kids, but sometimes adults want to get their ghoul on as well. And what better way than a night on the town?

Halloween may fall on a Tuesday this year, but festivities are running all month. Here's a guide to having a terror-riffic October with your adult friends.

October 7-8

Start Saturday October 7th at 3:00pm by joining the Victoria Zombie Walk in Centennial Square. The event is free, and you can jump in as one of the shambling undead or a simple bystander. Take a break for dinner, then at 7:30pm head over to the Visitors Info Centre on Wharf St. to take a Ghostly Walk tour of St. Ann's Academy and Beacon Hill Park. Finally, cap the night off with a rockin' party cruise where you can share chilling ghost stories over holiday-themed drinks.

On Sunday October 8th, begin the day at 11am or 12pm with a group of your best buds or coworkers, and take on one of the challenges at Horror Escape Victoria or Epic Escape Victoria. Can you work together to solve the mystery before you meet your doom? Find out! Then at 2pm, head over to Ross Bay Cemetary for their Murder Most Foul tour, where Michael Halleran will show you the graves of real murderers and their victims and tell you their stories. If that doesn't put you off your lunch, it's time for a Halloween dinner party cruise, complete with licensed bar and catering!

October 14-15

Ready for some real scares? On Saturday October 14th hit up the Monsters Haunted House: Fear On The Pier at Pier A on Dallas Rd. Doors open as early as 6:30pm, and you can brave one attraction or two: The Darkness Maze and Dead City! Once you've had your fun getting the willies spooked out of you, head over to the Inner Harbour to wind down with some drinks, good food, and great music on a sunset Halloween cruise.

October 21-22

Things are getting revved up now! By Saturday October 21st, set yourself up with a Halloween cruise for lunch or dinner, then make your way over to the Oak Bay Marina at 6:30pm for a Ghost Bus-Tour to see some of the most haunted spots in Victoria, plus participate in some on-site ghost investigations. Or if bubblegum-pop horror is more your thing, visit Craigdarroch Castle for their 7pm or 9pm showtimes of RED DEATH, a mashup of "Edgar Allan Poe and the narcotic fume of 1970’s disco culture", "playing with apocalyptic themes such as viruses and zombie-like epidemics."

Or on Sunday October 22nd, spend an afternoon in Ross Bay Cemetary at 2pm for their Psychic Ghost Walk, lead by clairvoyant medium Dawn Kirkham and her paranormal investigating team. Top it off by inviting your new ghostly friends (and living buddies) to an evening party for wining and dining.

If you like festivities and shopping, then Sunday October 29th will be your day, starting with Government Street at noon for WICKED VICTORIA, where vendors and stores up and down the street will be offering tricks, treats, and deals. Make sure to take part in the DVBA's downtown Pumpkin Pursuit while you're at it, to get entered into the draw for dozens of prizes. Then swing by Ross Bay Cemetary at 2pm for their Annual Ghost Tour, full of ghost stories linked to the very people buried in the cemetary. Finally, gather your costumed friends together for a spooky dinner of drinks and dancing.